Birds like to perch in many places that can be problematic for humans, including for example, rooftops, ledges, and other areas on buildings and homes. Among other things, birds tend to be noisy and make an unsightly mess. Devices with projecting spikes are often used to prevent birds from perching, but previously known such devices can be relatively expensive to bring to market, can lack flexibility, and can be dangerous to install.
For example, U.S. Pat. Appl. 2004/0216393 to Hall, et al. (publ. November 2004) describes a bird deterrent device that has a flexible base member with a plurality of prongs. However, the Hall device is not stackable and is therefore expensive to ship (i.e., bring to market). The Hall device can also be expensive to install since it requires a tool to reduce the length of the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,243,465 to Donoho describes a bird deterrent having a base with at least one branched spike extending from the base. Like the Hall device, the bird deterrent is also not stackable.
WIPO Publ. No. 2005/029955 to Knight (publ. April 2005) describes a method of manufacturing a bird deterrent device in which the rods are inserted in a direction parallel to the plane of the base. Though stackable, such configuration can be problematic as the rods must be bent during installation. Such bending adds to the time and cost of installation, and increases the chances of injury.
UK Patent No. 2432412B to Jones discusses a bird access prevention device for a chimney pot having a plurality of tines projecting laterally from the band at spaced intervals. While the Jones device is stackable, it is problematic because the band of the device must be mounted off-horizontal, and would require the spikes to be bent to otherwise be effective.
Some bird deterrent devices (e.g., U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 2003/0208967 to Riddell and U.S. Pat. No. 6,546,676 to Wiesener et al.) have a base comprising a series of adjacent segments, which are scored at their junctions to increase the base's flexibility, and facilitates length reduction during installation. However, similar to the above devices, the Riddell device is also not stackable, and therefore has increased shipment costs.
Bird Barrier's™ Dura-Spike device is stackable, but is still problematic to install. Among other things, the base of the device is readily deformed, especially during installation, which can limit the device's contact with the installation surface. In addition, the device can also be expensive to install since it requires a tool to reduce the length of the device.
Thus, there is still a need for a stackable bird deterrent device having a plurality of spikes configured such that the spikes are oriented in a position at least 5° from a position parallel to a plane of the base.